Birds of a Feather

...written by Drew

An American Kestrel and a Barred Owl. I'm letting you know that up front to avoid the inevitable awkward pause between your initial glance and the time it takes for you to realize that you don't know what was painted. I'm not critiquing the painting skills of my 28/5/3 year old artists in residence. I'm simply preemptively educating. That's my line, and I'm sticking to it.

Tonight Benjamin and I went to Walmart for the explicit purpose of getting cheese and getting out. While neither of us typically enjoy time spent perusing the shelves of a store, this time was different because it was just the guys going out and we could be our manly selves without apology. We did our best to spend an inordinate amount of time in the tools and DIY aisles. Our initial thought was to "build something." Unfortunately, due to economic conditions being what they are, I wasn't willing to commit the financial resources necessary to constructing a masterpiece of ingenuity. We did however find light switch covers for 47cents.

Unfortunately, the Joycian stream that brought us from light switch covers to painting birds, was not recorded for posterity.

Emma chose the American Kestrel. Benjamin chose the Barred Owl. I chose the Canon T1i - paint isn't my best medium. Upon reflection, I am wondering if there is some psychological profiling that can be done to investigate why my children both chose birds of prey. Early exposure to Star Trek perhaps?

Would you call this an "art project?" I somehow think that Roger Tory Peterson would cringe at such a suggestion. It is nature, art, science, creativity, exploration, and enjoyment. When does it stop being a tool of learning?